Poltergeist: 10 Big Differences Between Original And Remake

The original Poltergeist is all about television, expressing fear over that technology that a lot of people were having. The spirits take Carol Anne through the television set, and that’s how the characters are able to communicate with her. 

In 2015, television isn’t quite as prominent in our lives anymore, or at least it isn’t the only important screen in our homes. To update the story for modern audiences, the remake makes use of a larger variety of screens including tablets and smartphones. There’s a sequence where the oldest daughter, Kendra, experiences some strange interference on her iPhone, and another where the mom’s tablet is acting weird.

This change is a pretty wise move, adapting the spirit of the original but having it make sense for modern times. The original relied on static and white noise, while this one relies more on technical glitches. 

It definitely wouldn’t be as scary for audiences today to have everything confined to the television sets, and having the spirit being able to also move through phones, tablets, and really anything with electricity, is a nice little update.